


MB  ~~  Media Blackout

by luv_u_4eva_418



Series: Media Mess [1]
Category: Adam Lambert (Musician), Tommy Ratliff (Musician)
Genre: Anger, Angst, Family, Love, M/M, Minor Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-06
Updated: 2013-07-06
Packaged: 2017-12-17 22:17:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/872566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luv_u_4eva_418/pseuds/luv_u_4eva_418
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>To protect his family after an accident Adam sent out a two letter text, knowing that it would be understood.</p>
            </blockquote>





	MB  ~~  Media Blackout

The black Escalade was making its way from an office building in downtown LA when it was picked up by a small, dark blue Honda. The drive of the Honda knew they had struck pay-dirt when the other driver caught sight of them and started trying to lose them in the heavy mid-day traffic. 

As safely as the larger vehicle was driving, the smaller car kept darting in and out of traffic. The driver knew that if he could catch up with the SUV then his passenger would get what he needed, and in turn, so would he.

However, as he pulled up beside the SUV he wasn’t paying attention to what was going on in front of him. He never saw the produce truck pulling out at the intersection. He never saw his light turn red. He never heard his passenger yelling at him to stop.

At the last second he looked up and saw the light was no longer green. He saw, out of the corner of his eye, the truck and jerked his wheel to the right. 

The last thing he saw was the other driver with a look of horror on his face, a flash of bright blonde, and a smaller tuft of black hair.

*~*~*~*

Adam Lambert was sitting at home working on some lyrics for a song he was working on, waiting for two very special people to return home from a doctor’s appointment. He knew that the quiet he was experiencing right now wasn’t going to last, so he was using it to his advantage.

He knew that Tommy Joe would be hungry when he got home, but he didn’t know about Dex. The little boy ate differently from one day to the next.

Just as he was about to pick up his pencil again his phone started to ring, and when he saw the number his heart picked up its beating.

“Adam!! You need to get down to the hospital right now!!”

That was all he heard from Lane before she hung up on him and in that instant he knew that his world was changed.

He jumped up from where he was sitting, with his phone clutched tightly in his hand, and flew down the stairs to grab his jacket, wallet and keys. He didn’t bother to set the alarm code, but hollered out to his neighbor and asked him to do it for him.

As he made his way down the streets to the hospital he had to keep calming himself down. He knew that him freaking out would help nobody, especially if there were paparazzi outside the hospital.

Scenes kept flashing through his mind; each one worse than the one before it, so he knew that he needed to get there so he could reassure himself that everyone was okay.

When he pulled up to the hospital he could see the swarms of pap’s in the parking lot and knew that whatever had happened, wasn’t good.

Before climbing out of his car he pulled his cell out and sent out a two letter text to his family and friends, knowing that they would shut down completely.  
*~*~*~*

Cam, Isaac, Taylor, Terrence and Ashley were sitting in a quiet restaurant with a writer from Rolling Stones; they were giving an interview about the new CD Adam was working on. It didn’t surprise any of them when the interview started and they got along great with the writer. 

Most bands and dancers have a hard time connecting with the people interviewing them, but this particular guy had done it many times before and knew how the group worked.

They were just getting into the interview when all of their phones went off at one time. They looked at each other, knowing that a simultaneous text could only be from one person.

Isaac grabbed his phone and when he read the text his heart dropped and his face turned white.

“We’re done here.” 

When those words came out of his mouth the entire group stood as one, knowing that it was bad, and it was up to them to keep it in the family.

When the five friends got out to the car they had taken they climbed in and looked at each other again. A feeling of fear and anger swept through them before they could stop it.

As the car pulled away, Isaac spoke two words that no one ever wanted to hear…

Media Blackout

*~*~*~*

The moment Isaac’s phone went off more than 60 other phones went off with the same message:

MB

In the next five minutes anyone that had been associated with Adam, Tommy, their families, any of his CD's or tours, received the text.

The second it was received, people started springing into action. From stopping interviews or leaving a store or kicking press people out of their homes or offices, the wagons were being drawn in tight around Adam Lambert and his family.

*~*~*~*

He sat there staring at the black and purple dragon in his hands. 

It was ages before he looked up again, at the doctor sitting in across the table from him and Lane. He was a young man, with a heartbroken look on his face, but Adam couldn’t understand why he was the one who was sad.

“Mr. Lambert, do you understand what I just said to you?”

Lane looked from the doctor to Adam, knowing that when the news hit him it would bring him to his knees. She knew-

“What do you mean ‘they’re gone’? How could they be gone? They just went downtown to an appointment! No one knew they were going down there…so how could they be gone?!”

Adam was distraught when it finally clicked in his mind what the doctor was telling him. This guy, who was younger than him, was sitting there telling him that his family had just been torn apart!

The doctor looked at Lane for some help, and the woman who had held everything together for Adam for the longest time almost seemed at a loss for words. With everything that she had helped out with and every problem she had solved for the salacious singer and his band, this was one thing that she could never have thought about trying to make better.

Turning to look at the black haired man, she quietly said “Adam, you need to calm down, please. The doctor just told you that Tommy survived, but he is in critical condition. They have him in emergency surgery and are trying to save his life right now.” She took a breath, knowing that the next part was going to be harder for him to hear. “Steve was hit from the left side, hard. The other car slammed right into him and he died from his injuries.” 

She was watching the younger man, and knew the second things started sliding into place. She knew that when he got the last piece of information he wasn’t going to be able to handle it, at all. Of everything that had happened to him since he had entered into ‘the scene’ this was the one thing that scared him the most.

“No Lane…you can’t tell me…please don’t tell me…no…I am not going to listen…there’s no way…”

Listening to Adam plead with her brought tears to her eyes. She looked at the doctor when she saw his mouth open as if to answer the distraught man, and shot him a hard look. In the next instant he shut his mouth and looked down, knowing that this was a scene he didn’t need to witness.

She turned to answer Adam, who was staring at the dragon again.

“Adam…Adam! Look at me.” when she saw his eyes she knew nothing would ever fix this. “When the car swerved from the left lane into their lane, and hit the driver’s side of the SUV it killed the driver instantly.” She saw him take a deep breath and nod for her to continue. “Dex was sitting right behind Steve, Adam. When the car hit the Escalade and killed Steve…it killed Dex too.”

*~*~*~*

It had been two weeks since Adam had heard the news that Dex and Steve had been killed in a car accident. It had been a long two weeks of sitting next to Tommy Joe, watching as the blonde lay there not knowing what had happened after the accident.

The outside world was in a state of chaos. All they knew what a vehicle belonging to Adam Lambert was involved in a car accident and there were two fatalities. They knew that Adam was alive, but they knew nothing else.

It was known that the driver of the other car had been taken into custody, and the photographer was being questioned while he recovered from his injuries. It was also known that at some point in the future, both men were going to be charged with something, but it was not publicly known what they were to be charged with.

Adam’s fans were panicking at this point, because everything from Twitter to Facebook and Instagram to Youtube was silent. From the second the text was sent out, it was as if nothing outside of cell phones and land lines existed.

His management team had sent their lawyers over to the hospital and made every single person that came in contact with him or Tommy or anyone associated with them sign a confidentially agreement. As much as he loved his fans, and didn’t care what they knew about him or what they said, this was one thing that was not going to be talked about right now.

*~*~*~*

Every single day for the past 14 days he had been sitting there, praying to whoever would listen, to bring his Tommy Joe back to him. He needed to hear the blonde right now. Needed his humor and snarkiness and his darkness…he just need him back in his life right now.

He looked at the smaller hand that was grasped in his hand. Looking at the fingernails that had been cleaned off when he was brought in. he looked up one arm and down the other, so very happy that his ability to play bass wasn’t interrupted.

With everything else they were going to have to deal with, that was one thing that did not need to be taken away from him too. One of the loves of his life was gone; they didn’t need to take another one too.

But as his eyes slipped down the small body he couldn’t help the tears that popped up when he saw both legs encase by casts. He knew that more surgeries were needed to fix the legs, but they were holding off till Tommy Joe woke up.

Shaking unneeded thoughts out of his head and looked at Tommy Joe’s face and couldn’t help but fall in love all over again. He knew that Tommy would be upset that his hair had to be shaved off, but he couldn’t care less right now.

“Baby, I know that you can hear me, wherever you are. I know that you aren’t hurting there, and I know that you are with Dex and your dad. But I need you to come back to me. I know that you want to stay with him and your dad, but I can’t survive without you. I know that is being selfish, but right now I don’t care!”

He couldn’t help the tears the came pouring down his face as he talked to Tommy Joe. Everyone thought that he was the strong one in their relationship. But they were wrong.

Tommy was the one that kept him in check; kept him from losing his head when things went wrong in the recording studio. He was the one that kept him from blowing up at his management team when they pissed him off. He was the one that constantly was there for him, even when he himself was having a bad day.

As much as the outside world thought he was the ‘man’ in their relationship, Tommy was the ‘heart.’

“I know that you love the time you have with your dad and Dex, but I need you to come back here to me. Everyone misses you, and I don’t know what I am going to do with Neil. Of everyone, he is freaking out almost as bad as I am.”

He heard someone snort behind him and when he looked over his shoulder he saw his brother standing behind him, leaning against the doorframe.

“Hey” Neil said quietly. “Any change with your boy?”

All he could do was shake his head, as a few tears rolled down his face.

“What am I going to tell him when he wakes up? He was so broken when his dad died; I don’t know how he’s going to be able to handle Dex’s death.”

A fresh set of tears rolled down his face as well as Neil’s too. He knew that his brother loved Tommy Joe, despite how he played it, and also knew that Dex held a huge spot in his heart too.

“You are going to have the family here. Your family, your Glamily is going to be here when you have to tell him that. Neither one of y'all is going to be alone. We will not let you do this by yourself.” Adam tried to cut in. “No, Adam! You are not going to do this alone!! Mom won’t let you, Isaac won’t let you, and Monte won’t let you! No one is going to let you do this by yourself!”

“That’s right…we are going to be here, standing with you, the entire time.” Another voice added.

The two brothers looked up and saw Monte and his wife Lisa standing there, along with Isaac and Sophie. Both couples had been at the hospital every day, helping each other make sure Adam took time to eat and sleep and take a shower. 

Adam could only muster up a small smile for the four newcomers, before his eyes trailed back to the small figure lying still in the hospital bed. He knew that it would break Tommy, but prayed that he would be able to help him piece it back together.

*~*~*~*

The paparazzi were getting restless, along with every newspaper, magazine, gossip show and website. Everyone wanted to know what was going on inside the hospital.

There was video and pictures of Adam’s family and friends going in and out of the hospital, but there was no sign of Adam or Tommy or their mothers. So there was no way to tell who the injured person was.

Everyone was so determined to get information the news organizations were starting to bribe people into slipping them information. None of them realized how protected the black haired singer was.

When the first people came out with no information, a letter was released from his team…

At this moment, information regarding Adam Lambert or any person in his band or family is being kept strictly confidential. Any person found on the grounds of the hospital or of his home will be automatically arrested and charged. At this point in time, NO INFORMATION is going to be released.

It took one person affiliated with a gossip website being arrested and charged for the rest of them to realize that they were not going to get anything…but that didn’t stop them from pitching tents around the hospital and talking about it during every show.

*~*~*~*

Dia and Leila were sitting with Tommy a week later while Adam was taking a shower when the monitor attached to his heart started spiking. 

In the next 30 seconds the room with filled with doctors and nurses checking on the blonde. Both women could tell that the doctors were worried when his heart rate wouldn’t slow down.

Adam came out of the bathroom and was shocked to see what was going on.

“Tommy Joe! What’s going on? Someone tell me!” he was getting frantic, because no one seemed to hear him.

A second later a small red-headed nurse rushed to him and grabbed his hand. She pulled him from the bathroom door over to the side of Tommy’s bed and had him grasp the smaller hand.

“Talk to him.” she said in a rush. “He isn’t responding to us, but he might to you. Just talk to him, sooth him.”

He looked down and saw the distress on his face. “Tommy Joe, come on baby. You need to calm down for me. Your heart needs to calm down, before the doctors have to give you something, and I know you don’t want that.”

He looked over at their mothers standing against the wall and sent them a heartbreaking look. They knew that their boys were connected in a special way, and that Adam was breaking form seeing his Tommy that way.

“Keep talking to him, son.” An older doctor prodded. “We need him to calm down, before he hurts himself even more.”

Adam leaned down, so his mouth was right next to Tommy’s head and started to whisper. 

“Tommy Joe…please calm down. Tommy Joe…pretty kitty. I know how much you love it when I call you that. You need to calm down for me sweetie. Kitty, please calm down…baby…I know you can hear me.” he kept whispering, every now and then he looked at the doctor and saw him nod. “Come on baby, I know that you’re listening to me. I know that as much as you don’t want to leave Dex and your dad” he heard a sob and saw their mothers in each other’s arms “I know you don’t want to leave them, but I need you back here with me. Please…please…please baby!! I need you back here.” 

He looked up to see Neil and Monte standing beside their moms, looking back at him with tears in their eyes. It was if both men knew if they lost the blonde today, their friend would be forever broken. They knew Adam wouldn’t survive without his baby.

Adam pulled back from Tommy’s ear to get a look at his face. He started calling him all the little pet names they had shared over the years. The little names that aggravated him to death, but Adam knew that Tommy loved them even when he wouldn’t admit it.

“Tommy Joe. Kitty. Pretty. Baby. Love. Glitters. Glitterbaby.”

With every name that was spoken the people gathered in the room could see the heart monitor getting slowly back under control. The doctors and nurses wanted to say that they were surprised with this, but in actuality they had seen stuff like this before.

Adam retook his seat beside the bed and kept whispering to Tommy as Monte and Neil left the room to call their friends to tell them that Tommy might be waking up soon.

*~*~*~*

It was another three days before Tommy started to come out of the coma the accident had put him in. it was a scary three days though, there were a few times when they didn’t know if he was going to make it.

This time it was Isaac and Monte sitting with him while Adam had been forced out of the room and over to a patio off Tommy’s room. He needed fresh air, it was decided by Lisa and Sophie, and so it was up to them to drag him out there.

Monte was talking to Tommy Joe about this bass he had seen in some store when he heard a small noise.

His looked over at Isaac who quickly ran to the door and pulled Adam back into the room. He pushed him over to his spot beside the bed and Monte gestured for him to start talking.

“Hey baby. I know that you are coming back to me. I know it is hard, and it hurts so much, but I am here to help you. I won’t let anything hurt you again. I miss you so much, Glitterbaby. I need you here with me.”

He heard a groan, this time it was a little louder, so he kept talking. Kept telling him about the people who missed him and the things their fans were saying on Twitter. He told him over and over that he loved him and he needed him.

Adam knew that Tommy Joe was in pain, physically and emotional, and he knew that the smaller man tried to hide from the pain, tired to push it away, but this time he wasn’t going to let him. 

He was talking to him when he saw the most beautiful brown eyes beneath fluttering eyelids.

“Hey there Glitterbaby. I missed you.”

*~*~*~*

Two days later Tommy was finally strong enough to stay awake for twenty minutes or more, and Adam knew that this was when he was going have to tell him what had happened.

He knew their families and friends were outside waiting to see Tommy Joe, so he quietly let them in.

Tommy looked at Adam and whispered “Dex?”

He knew the blonde was looking for the little boy that had stolen their hearts. The little boy who could get away with anything, just by batting his eyelashes and pouting…something he had picked up from Tommy.

Adam couldn’t speak, didn’t know what to tell him. He didn’t want to tell him the truth, but knew that this wasn’t something that could be ignored any longer.

“Baby” he saw Tommy’s eyes darting around, trying to spot the 18 month old “baby look at me.” he brown eyes wouldn’t settle on him, so he gently placed his hands on either side of his face a forced Tommy to look at him.

He could hear their friends moving around the room and those that were also outside the room, showing support for both of them. They knew that when Tommy was told, it was going to break him and it would take all of them to keep the doctors out long enough for Adam to get him to calm down.

“Tommy Joe, look at me.” with the frantic eyes finally looked back at him, he started again. “When you were in the accident the car hit the driver’s side.” He saw the eyes quickly fill with tears. “The other driver wasn’t watching where he was going, and swerved hard into your lane. The front and side of his car hit the Escalade hard. Steve was killed” he took a breath as Tommy shut his eyes and let some tears escape “baby…I need you to look at me. Baby, Dex was killed too.”

*~*~*~*

Monte knew the moment Adam told Tommy that Dex hadn’t survived the accident. He had been down the hall waiting when he heard a heartbreaking scream, followed by the sounds of doctors running down to the room

When he reached the room he could hear Tommy Joe crying out for Dex. Adam was pleading with him to calm down, but Monte knew it would take more than that for Tommy to calm down.

After his father had died, Tommy had become depressed and the only person that was able to reach him was Adam. Tommy knew that he could turn to his friend in the darkest of times. More often than naught, Monte would happen upon them with Adam curled around Tommy, as if to protect him from the bad things.

He knew that the doctors would do nothing but hurt Tommy Joe, by drugging him like they wanted to. He wasn’t about to let them do that to his friends; not after everything they had gone through.

He was one of the people to keep them out of the room, knowing his friends needed this time together. He knew that only Adam would be able to calm Tommy Joe down, and if doctors were added into the mix it would just hurt things.

He knew that the younger bass player didn’t like the hospital, for obvious reasons. He also knew that as much and his friends and family loved him and wanted to help him right now, he wouldn’t let them.

Standing there for another ten minutes, he listened to the cries of agony coming from the room. He watched as Neil and Isaac led their mothers out of the room after they could no longer listen to Tommy.

Finally he heard Adam calling for him to come into the room. When he saw Tommy Joe, his heart broken again at the sight.

Adam had climbed into the bed with the Tommy and had the smaller man curled into his side, trying to make himself into a small ball, the broken legs not hindering him too much at this point.

“Hey man, thanks for keeping the doctors out right now. We didn’t need them in here causing any more problems than we already have.” Monte nodded, so Adam went on. “I need you to get Lane and Neil; I want you three to find us a place far away from here. Close enough that we are still in Cali, but far away from the paps and fans.”

“How big-“

Adam interrupted him while he tightened his arms around Tommy Joe. “As big as we can get. I want him to have what he needs, despite him saying he won’t need it, I don’t care. I want something big, with a house already there. Big house. More than one house on the property. It needs to be big, because we are going to need our family, our Glamily. Everyone is going to be there for us…we need…need…”

He couldn’t finish his thought before he broke down. With everything that had been going on and everyone that he had been strong for, it just overwhelmed him to the point of him breaking point.

Monte just walked closer and grabbed one of his hands, trying to give his friend any strength that he needed. He knew that Adam always seemed so together and calm, but he had been waiting for him to break down again.

“Dude, don’t worry. We will take care of everything. I will get with Neil and Lane and your Mom. We will make sure that we have everything ready for you and your boy. Away from any and everything that might hurt you right now. We will take you away from here.”

Adam just nodded and pulled Monte closer, for a one armed hug and cried.

*~*~*~*

For the next month Tommy Joe underwent two more surgeries, physical therapy and tests to make sure he was healing the way he needed to. He didn’t talk much, except to Adam but everyone knew that he was dealing with things in his own way.

A place had been found, just like Adam asked. It was three hours outside of LA, and was almost three hundred acres. It had one large house and about a dozen smaller cottages on the property. There were ponds and streams and a pool and hiking trails too.

No one questioned it when instead of signing a rental agreement, Lane contacted the renter and offered to buy it from the. At first the owners were worried about their land being torn down and torn up, but after a conversation they quickly signed the papers.

Tommy Joe didn’t know what was going on and he didn’t ask Adam about it, but he knew that he would do everything in his power to protect him. He knew that the other man was just as broken as he was, but instead of either of them turning against the other they helped the other man.

He knew that the death of someone so young could tear a family apart, and when he was first told about Dex he thought that Adam might blame him, but in the next second knew that he wouldn’t. He couldn’t blame Adam either, because he had no control over the actions of another.

The other driver and the photographer…those two were on his radar right now, though. He had talked to Adam about it, and knew that he talked their mothers about what he wanted to do, and knew that no one was going to stand in their way.

The men that had taken their little boy from them did not know was coming their way.

*~*~*~*

It had been three months since the accident, but they were finally moved onto the property Lane, Monte and Neil had found for them.

At first Tommy Joe was hesitant, given how far they were from LA and the hospital. But Adam convinced him that if need be they could get a helicopter out to the house and they didn’t need to be in LA anymore.

After everything that he had gone through, Adam didn’t want his Pretty Kitty anywhere near paparazzi or fans or anyone that might have the chance to hurt him. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to protect the blonde forever, but for right now he could.

Tommy Joe was happy to learn about all the things that the land boasted, including the fact that the entire property was fenced in. that was something, Neil confessed to him, that Adam had done right after he purchased the place.

He had brought in a contractor and had the entire place closed in, complete with security cameras and sensors. He had been so involved and knowledgeable that the contractor almost offered him a job.

One night before bed Tommy Joe looked at Adam and asked “How far are we from town? Like a big town, that might now know who I am right now?” Adam just cocked his head, so he continued “my hair has grown out and I don’t like the color anymore. I want to cut it and dye it.”

“Why don’t you have someone brought here?”

Tommy Joe knew that was Adam’s way of protecting him, but he didn’t want to be cooped up here much longer.

“No. I want to leave for a little while. Just me and Sutan.” Adam looked like he wanted to say no. “Please baby, I need this. I need to get out for a little while. I know you are scared, but I need to do this for myself. I need to know that I can leave the protection this place offers. To prove to myself that I am strong enough.”

Adam just looked at him, knowing that he had to let Tommy Joe do this. He knew that this was the smaller man’s way of taking back what had been taken from him all those months ago.

“Are you sure? Just you and Sutan…can you please take at least one ‘big’ person? Please?”

Tommy Joe gave him a dead look, but knew that was his concession. He knew that was the only way he would be able to go out, so he nodded.

“Monte?” he asked and gave Adam a look. After a second he nodded, and Tommy Joe threw his arms around his love.

*~*~*~*

It had taken another month and a half before Sutan, Monte and Tommy Joe were able to go out. They wanted to wait till Tommy’s legs were out of the casts and he was able to walk without the help of crutches, even though he had an awesome cane helping him.

They had driven into a city that was close by and stopped at the first beauty salon they could find. When they walked in the girl at the desk just looked at them like they were crazy.

“Can I help you?” she asked slowly.

Tommy Joe just smiled “I need a haircut and a dye job, please.”

She nodded and said “What color?”

Neither Sutan nor Monte knew what he wanted, but when he told her the colors that he wanted, tears came to their eyes. They knew Tommy Joe loved color in his hair, but normally not like that.

The two men sat there talking about what had gone on and how life was out on the property now named MiracleMiles. How all the different families that came and left and came again, were there to help Adam and Tommy Joe during this time.

They talked about the CD that Adam finished and was putting the finishing touches on. Sutan said that he wasn’t surprised about the fact that Adam waited for Tommy Joe to begin recording the album. Both men knew how important it was to Adam for Tommy to be there with him.

They both quietly agreed with Adam and Tommy Joe in the way they were going to handle the other persons from the accident. Both guys knew that the men didn’t want to hurt the other two guys, but they didn’t want what happened to them to happen again.

Four hours later a newly shaven Tommy Joe walked out of the salon with short black roots and long purple tips. The women in the salon, after cutting and dying his hair kind of realized who he was. When he saw this he asked them not to say anything, and promised those tickets and anything they wanted when Adam toured again.

When they got back to MiracleMiles he rushed into Adams studio to show him his new hair.

Adam looked up at the interruption, and smiled when he saw Tommy standing in front of him.

“Aww, baby, I love your hair.” 

He pushed his chair away from the table as Tommy Joe walked over to him. He grabbed the small wrist and pulled him into his lap, while running his free hand through the black and purple hair.

He just smiled when Tommy laid his head on his shoulder and nuzzled into his neck, smelling the black hair in front of him. Adam kept petting the black and purple hair, even after he realized Tommy Joe had fallen asleep.

*~*~*~*

It had been nine months since the accident, and even though their fans and the press kept asking them to answer their questions the entire bubble surrounding Adam and Tommy Joe kept the MB going.

Everyone knew that the two men were getting stronger day by day, but they didn’t need everyone else up in their business. They had their family and friends to help them, and within the next week the entire would was going to know what had happened.

It was just before the entire group was going to sit down to a picnic when Adam’s phone went off. He checked the number, kissed Tommy Joe on the forehead and slipped off to take the call.

Neil came and silently took Adam’s seat beside Tommy Joe and just held his slightly shaking hand. He knew what the phone call was about, as did Tommy Joe, but also knew that it brought up things that he wanted to keep just to himself.

Those gathered had seen Adam slip off and knew that something was up, but as always they would let Adam and Tommy tell them in their own time.

Adam came back with a determined look on his face, kissed Tommy again and then turned to face their family.

“The trial starts in two weeks.” He looked down at Tommy and saw the tears coming in. “We are going to be there, for Dex and for Steve.” He looked at Steve’s wife Morgan and three little girls, and nodded. “After the trial is over, Tommy Joe and I along with Morgan, we are going to file a lawsuit against the driver, the photographer and the publisher the photographer works for.”

He stood there quietly for a minute, knowing that his words needed to sink in. he felt small hands run down his back and slip around his waist, and knew that this was his way of giving strength to the taller man.

The group got quiet as they watched Morgan and Steve’s youngest daughter, Caraleigh, walk over to Adam. He knelt down when she tugged on his hand.

“You gonna get those bad men? They took away my daddy and your Dexy. You gonna get them?”

He gathered her into his arms and just hugged her as tears rolled down both of their faces. He knew that she didn’t understand everything that was going on, but she knew that someone was there for the two that they had all lost.

“Yes, baby. Well will get them, and they will pay for what they took from us.”

*~*~*~*

The trials lasted just over a week and a half each. The Prosecutor decided not to try them together, because he feared the jury would sentence them incorrectly for their different crimes.

The Prosecutor told Tommy Joe that he might or might not be called to the stand to testify, it just depended on how the trial went. The defense didn’t want him up there because he would tear apart their case, and the Prosecutor didn’t want to cause him any more pain.

The media, upon hearing who had died in the accident, jumped like a hound dog to a milk bone. They had tried to ferret out any information they could, but they were denied at every turn. 

By the end of the first week Tommy Joe had to be given medication from his doctor to help him sleep. After hearing what his little boy and Steve had gone through, along with what had happened to him, he had started having nightmares.

He knew that it didn’t help that his insomnia was acting up again. In the past when it got too bad he would slip into Dex’s room and just lie on the extra bed and watch him sleep in his crib. The calming presence of his little boy helped him fall asleep.

Tommy Joe didn’t want to be put on any other meds than that, but he knew that if he wanted to survive the trials he would probably need them. He just couldn’t take listening to the details of the accident, and then have to listen to the defendants claim it wasn’t their fault.

*~*~*~*

Adam knew that everything was starting to get to Tommy when he didn’t get up one morning. He looked back at the figure under the blankets and he knew that Tommy was crying again.

Slipping back onto the bed and wrapping his arms around the bundle, Adam quietly started humming. There was not much else he knew that would help the smaller man, other than climbing back into bed with him.

“Baby” he whispered “do you want me to stay home with you today?”

The crying got quiet, so he knew Tommy was deciding what he needed. Adam knew that the purple haired man wanted the protection of his arms, but also knew that he wanted Adam to go and make sure the trial was going the way they wanted it to.

“Baby?”

Tommy pulled the blanket down and Adam could see the swollen eyes of his love. 

“No. I want you to go. You need to be there for Dex. You need to make sure they pay for what was done to him…to us. You need to watch out for Dex and Steve.”

With that, Tommy slipped back under the covers and stayed there till Adam gave him a final kiss before leaving. He slipped his iPod and cell phone under the blankets, telling him to call when he needed to.

Adam slipped into the kitchen, not surprised to see his Glamily gathered there. When they looked behind him for Tommy they were surprised when he didn’t appear.

“He can’t handle it today. It’s just getting to him. Everything is piling up and he hasn’t been able to sleep. When he does, he wakes up calling for Dex…and then remembers what happened and can’t go back to sleep.”

Sutan walked up and wrapped his arms around the larger man, knowing that a hug was all he could do for him. Adam just wrapped his arms around Sutan and held on.

Sutan whispered “I’ll stay with him today. Me and Monte already decided that whenever Tommy broke we would stay with him.”

Adam gave both men a grateful look, knowing they would rather be in the courtroom with the rest of their family. But he also knew how much they cared about Tommy and that they would be there for him when the time came.

*~*~*~*

Sutan and Monte had been talking quietly when Tommy Joe finally made his way into the kitchen. When they saw him slip in, they watched him grab some juice out of the stocked fridge and pour himself a glass.

After seating himself at the table with them he said, “Did you two draw the short straws to see who was going to stay home today? Cuz if you did, that sucks!”

The two men looked at each other and just laughed. They saw that Tommy was trying to deal with everything in his own way, and it was further driven it with what he said next.

“I want to get a new tattoo today.” He could see them wanting to say something. “I need to do this today, while everyone’s away. I just need to have this done.”

“Where do you want to go? I know that you don’t want just anyone inkin’ you, so what did you have in mind?” Monte asked.

Tommy smiled “I have a friend coming in today and that parlor next to the place where I got my hair done, they are letting him use one of their rooms for the next few days.”

Both men knew they were screwed when Tommy Joe said that. It meant that he was not going to let them hold him hostage today.

*~*~*~*

That evening when the three men finally returned home, it was a frantic Neil who met them at the gate to MiracleMiles.

“Where the hell have you been?! We got back two hours ago and y’all weren’t here. We have been trying to reach you on your cells, but evidently they are dead. Adam is freaking out right now, and it is taking everything Isaac and Taylor have to keep him at the house.”

As one the three chastised men pulled out their phones and realized they had died sometime during their excursion. They also realized that it was a good thing they got done what they needed to, because they probably weren’t going to have another chance any time soon.

Ten minutes later they pulled up to the main house, not at all shocked to see every vehicle parked in the front lawn. Unfortunately these days it didn’t take much to scare any of the people who lived out there.

Tommy Joe was walking across the yard when the front door flew open. He saw a frantic Adam standing there, and when he spotted Tommy he ran down the steps and over to the smaller man, grabbing him in a tight embrace.

“Baby, please don’t do that to me again. I was so scared when we got back and y’all weren’t here. I know that between the three of you, you would be able to protect yourselves, but I didn’t know what to think when we came home to an empty house.”

Tommy just rubbed his head against the solid chest of his lover and sighed when Adam’s scent hit his nose. He missed this today, missed the security of having Adam next to him.

He let Adam lead him into the house and down the hall to his office, so they could talk privately for a few minutes. He could tell something was going on, something Adam needed to talk to him about.

After they got comfortable on the couch, with Tommy straddling Adams lap he looked into the blue eyes that always brought him comfort.

Adam sighed “the Prosecutor talked to me today.” Tommy’s fists fell into Adam’s lap, grabbing onto his shirt. “Both defendants want to be offered a plea deal. I guess they are starting to realize that they are going to lose their cases and are trying to get as little time as they can.” 

He stopped, knowing Tommy needed some time to process everything.

“What do you think? What does Morgan think? What type of time are they looking for?”

Adam slipped his hands around Tommy’s neck and slowly started to rub it. He let one of his hand slide into the hair at the back of his head, gently rubbing the scalp there.

He knew that Tommy’s freaking out meant he was scared. Scared that the two men that had taken away his little boy were trying to get away with what they had done. Scared that Morgan and their little girls were doing this just for him.

“Baby…baby…baby I need you to look at me. Okay, first want to tell you that I already talked to Morgan and the Prosecutor. We have all agreed that anything less than 25 years is not acceptable. Even though we could get more if we just let the trial go on, I know that you can’t handle this anymore.” Tommy tried to protest that, tried to stop Adam from saying he was weak. “I can’t do this anymore. I need to not have to see pictures of my beautiful boy broken. I need to be able to picture him in my mind as carefree as he was before he was taken from us. I know Morgan feels the same as I do, so she quickly agreed when we were approached this afternoon. It was up to you whether or not the plea was offered. I just want you to think about it baby. Please, for me.”

He had been watching Tommy the entire time he spoke, hoping to spot something that would give him a clue as to what his decision was going to be. There was always a chance he wanted to see this through to the end, but he also knew that the stress was slowly starting to get to him too.

Tommy sighed and pulled out of Adam’s lap, before he started to pace around the room. His hands slipped up into his purple and black hair, slowly tightening up as everything started to hit him at once.

Adam jumped up and grabbed him in his arms, before he could do any damage to himself. He knew the smaller man, though small, could hurt himself when he felt like he was backed into a corner.

“Okay.” Tommy whispered.

Adam pulled back and looked down into brown eyes that were once so full of life, and now they looked scared and guarded.

When he started to pull away to make the call to the Prosecutor, Tommy called him back. 

“I want to show you something.”

With that he let his hands fall to the bottom of the shirt he was wearing, one he stole from Adam, and gently pulled it over his head.

Adam spied a large piece of gauze on his chest, and knew why Tommy had slipped away this morning.

“Can I see?” he asked, and when Tommy nodded he slowly pulled away the gauze and tape.

The tattoo that lay upon the chest of his lover took his breath away. With the black and grey lines, perfectly done shading and light color work here and there it was a perfect portrait.

Dex was looking back at him. 

He lay there, on Tommy’s chest, exactly as he did every night Adam came home from work. With the small thumb resting right next to his mouth, a small grin peeking out from behind it. The light strawberry blonde hair slightly covering his left eye, Adam could see the green staring right back at him.

*~*~*~*

Over the next two months it seemed as though the two men were never able to sit for too long, they never got to see one alother and tempers were starting to get short.

Between the plea deals getting accepted, the lawsuits being filed, and the normal daily stuff, no one was able to get away and let their hair down. It was alwo extremely hard for the band to find time to practice together.

Finally it all came to a head when Adam blew up at Sutan for something stupid, so in turn Isaac turned and started yelling at Neil when he tried to get between Adam and Sutan. When Tommy entered the fight that was what woke everyone up, because throughout everything, Tommy had only mildly freaked out.

He freaked when he first heard about Dex, and that one day during the trial and then when Adam came and told him about the plea deals…but other than that, he had kept everything bottled up.

“Hey assholes…fuckin’ chill!!!!!” everyone turned to see Tommy standing there, looking as though he hadn’t slept in months. “what the hell is wrong with everyone?! Yeah, I know that we’ve all been through a lot in the past year…and we are all tired of being here…and we are all just plain tired of each other…but seriously??!!!! Can’t you just not act like children for one fuckin’ second and act like adults?!” he could see that some were going to say something, but cut them off. “I am tired…of everything. I want my life back. I want my band back. I want my boyfriend back. But most of all, I want my baby back. My baby, who was taken from me. I want him back!! I don’t care aobut anything else right now…I just want my baby boy back, in my arms, where he belongs. Not in the ground, where it is dark and scary…he belongs here, with me. Steve belongs here, with his wife and girls. Not buried, not there. I am tired of all the shit that has been flying through the air the past few weeks. If you are tired of being here, then GO HOME! Go on vacation. Just go the fuck away!!! If you can’t stand it here, or you need a break…just LEAVE!!!”

Tommy turned and left, and before Adam could reach the doorway everyone heard the front door slam shut.

He turned to those gathered, and quietly said “go back home.”

With that he left the house too.

*~*~*~*

Hours later, after their friends and family had left Adam and Tommy Joe walked back into their house. Both men were beyond exhausted, so they drug themselves up the stairs to their bedroom.

Tommy just fell onto the bed, without removing any of his clothes. He hadn’t been sleeping at all due to the nightmares and insomnia, so he just let Adam pull his boots and pants off.

Adam took his shoes and pants off too bfore crawling ito be with Tommy. He grabbed the blanket they kept on the foot of the bed and drug it over themselves.

Lying on his back, he smiled to himself when Tommy Joe cuddled closer to him, throwing his leg over Adams legs and wrapping an arm around his chest. Last thing to fall into place was his head, and that landed on Adam’s chest, right over his heart.

Adam was still, listening to Tommy breathing, not wanting to fall asleep till he knew the smaller man was sleeping too. he felt so guilty, knowing that Tommy hadn’t been sleeping but not doing anything to help him.

The fact that Tommy hadn’t really said anything about Dex’s death had bypassed his thoughts too. he didn’t realize Tommy was stilol processing the fact that their little boy had been taken from them. 

Tommy Joe had a really hard time letting people in. he had a hard time discussing his feelings and Adam knew this, but since the accident he had forgotten that.

He felt Tommy shifting around on his chest and looked down. He pressed a kiss to Tommy’s head, knowing that’s what he wanted.

“just go to sleep babyboy.”

“can’t Glitterbaby.”

Tommy looked up into his blue eyes and gave a barely-there grin, before kissing him on his chin.

“Love you, baby.” And with that, he laid his head back down and drifted off to sleep.

*~*~*~*

“I don’t think so! Of everything I will do in this world, I’ll be damned if that is one of them!!!!”

The entire floor at Adam’s management’s office heard that yelled, before hearing a door being thrown open an slammed shut. Pounding of boots on the carpeted floors alerted the office staff of one very pissed off person heading their way, and when said person turned the corner people weren’t shocked to see who it was.

Tommy Joe came around the corner, black and purple hair tusseled as though his hands had been pulling on it. eyeliner was smeared around his eyes, and his fae was whiter than anyone had ever seen it.

Without stopping at the elevators he pushed open the door to the stairs and took off down them, stomping the entire way down.

“I told you that he would never go for it. after everything that he has gone through, you want to try to make him do that? I don’t think so. I will do whatever interviews, answer questions within reason, do concerts all over the world. I don’t care, but I will not let you do that to him. I will not let you pressure him into doing that.”

With that, Adam quietly left the room. He knew that there was no chance of catching Tommy Joe when he was pushed like this so he didn’t bother. He was still in shock over what they wanted him to do, but would never allow that to happen.

Walking through the office he saw people standing around, and he knew they weren’t shocked at what happened. They all knew what Tommy and Adam had been through, and were equally shocked when they found out what was being asked of the two men.

Reaching his car, he was surprised to see someone leaning against the front of it. he thought htat Tommy would have taken off for a couple hours to calm down.

Squatting next to the smaller man, he quietly said “Glitterbaby, you ready to get out of here?”

Tommy nodded and leaned into Adam when he wrapped an arm around his shoulder. He couldn’t help it when tears started slipping down his face and onto the front of Adam’s shirt. 

“how could they ask me to do that?”

Adam barely heard the question, as Tommy was speaking into his chest. He ran his hand through the purple hair and shook his head.

“I don’t know, baby. They have told me to do many things over the past few years, but nothing comes close to being this heartless. But believe me when I say that you will not be participating in any interviews that you don’t want to. I don’t care if they get mad at me, this is something I will not change my mind about.”

*~*~*~*

When they got back home both men were surprised to find their house completely empty. They thought that with what went down at the meeting, their family would be there.

Tommy walked into the kitchen, only to come back a minute later with a slip of paper in his hand.

“The family is down at the lake, on the side with the picnic tables. They say that we can join them if and when we want to.” He looked at Adam, who gave him a look back. “Can we go baby? I wanna see everyone. I wanna see Monte’s babies and hold them and kiss them. Please baby.”

Adam was watching him while he was talking, happy that his Tommy Joe was happy again. he knew that it would take a long time for the smaller man to be back to his ‘normal’ self, but he was making progress.

Adam smiled at him, saying “Duh baby…you wanna go, then we’ll go.”

*~*~*~*

He sat there, staring at the black stone that had finally arrived. The beautiful black stone with the purple and silver swirls that had a dragon etched into it. it stood over three feet tall, standing under a willow tree by one of the streams that ran through their property.

The stone had taken over a year to finish, between trying to figure out what to have put on it and the color and where to get it made, but it was finally finished.

After everything that he and Adam and their family and friends had been through, things were finally starting to get back to normal.

Him and Adam still lived at MiracleMiles with Morgan and her girls, and many of their friends visited every weekend.

Adam had finally finished recording his CD and when it hit the store shelves their fans were shocked to find a picture of him, Tommy and Dex adorning the CD. 

His management people finally realized that trying to make Tommy do something he didn’t want to do wasn’t worth the hassle. Especially when it came to talking with the people he blamed for his baby’s death.

His beautiful baby boy…the one person, other than Adam that he would give his own life for. 

Every single day since the accident he thought about Dex. Wondered what he would be doing if he was still alive. Wondered what he would like to eat or watch on tv.

Him and Adam would often lie in bed at night, talking about their little boy that had been taken from them too soon. They talked about his smile and laugh and the way he loved to just lie on Tommy’s chest when he woke up.

Both men agreed that they couldn’t adopt another child anytime soon. They were still too heartbroken about the death of Dex to try to care for another child, but that didn’t stop them from starting a foundation in his name.

“Glitterbaby, are you ready to go baby?”

He heard Adam calling for him, knowing it was almost time to leave for the start of another tour.

Tommy kissed his hand before pressing it against the dragon on the stone.

“I’ll miss you Dex…I have to go with your Daddy now, but we’ll be back soon. Love you my baby.”

Tommy gave the stone one last glance before joining Adam in the car that would take them back to LA. He couldn’t help but smile at Adam when he reached over and grabbed his hand.

“Ready to go baby?”

Tommy looked back at the Willow branches blowing in the breeze and smiled, turning back to Adam to say “Ready Babyboy.”


End file.
